At the beginning of Flowers for Algernon, Charlie relates the criticisms of the operation expressed by his first nurse, Hilda that foreshadow some of the ultimate questions about Charlie's operation. He writes:
And she said mabey they got no rite to make me smart because if god wantid me to be smart he would have made me born that way. And what about Adem and Eev and the sin with the tree of nowlege and eating the appel and the fall. And mabey Prof Nemur and Dr Strauss was tampiring with things they got no rite to tampir with. (16)
How is this moral (even religious) criticism similar to/different from some of criticisms others make throughout the novel? Is it similar to what Charlie comes to think about the operation? Ultimately, how seriously do we take this? Or are we invited to dismiss it?
Like Adam and Eve, Charlie's operation allows him to see the world differently. Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. This allowed them to see their environment in a different perspective. They were punished by God for having this knowledge and banned from the garden. When Charlie had the surgery his perspective also changed, and he saw the world for what it truly was. He was ultimately punished and lost his innocence. He matured from a naïve, loving child to a cold, arrogant individual.
Like Adam and Eve, Charlie's operation allows him to see the world differently. Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. This allowed them to see their environment in a different perspective. They were punished by God for having this knowledge and banned from the garden. When Charlie had the surgery his perspective also changed, and he saw the world for what it truly was. He was ultimately punished and lost his innocence. He matured from a naïve, loving child to a cold, arrogant individual.
The criticisms made by Hilda before Charlie's operation to the Adam and Eve story were similar to those made by Fanny as well as the Paradise Lost text that Charlie read after his surgery. Hilda, Fanny, and the Paradise Lost book all express that maybe Charlie should not have gotten the surgery because God made him the way he is. If God wanted him to have a high intelligence he would have given it to Charlie. Hilda and Fanny argue that maybe Professor Nemur Doctor Strauss had no right to interfere with God’s work. On the other hand, the scientist believed this operation to be very beneficial. If it was successful, Charlie would be helping out many mentally retarded adults. Even if it proved to fail, it was looked at to be a major turning point in modern science. The differences in opinions indicate the different perspectives in terms of faith and religion.
Charlie comes to think of the operation as a mistake. Even though he was blessed to see the world as an intelligent person, everything suddenly taken away from him, much like Adam and Eve story. He no longer had friends. He had even exceeded the intelligence level of the scientist and started to become unappreciative of their work. His personality was altered dramatically and Charlie would have preferably been dumb with friends instead of intellectual without friends. He did not regret having the operation, but was not fond of being referred to as an experiment and not a human being.
Charlie comes to think of the operation as a mistake. Even though he was blessed to see the world as an intelligent person, everything suddenly taken away from him, much like Adam and Eve story. He no longer had friends. He had even exceeded the intelligence level of the scientist and started to become unappreciative of their work. His personality was altered dramatically and Charlie would have preferably been dumb with friends instead of intellectual without friends. He did not regret having the operation, but was not fond of being referred to as an experiment and not a human being.
In the beginning of the book, readers can dismiss the foreshadowing criticism and are invited to examine the operation seriously as an opportunity for a man to prove that he can make something of himself and be accepted by society. However, once the effects of the operation start to regress, the Adam and Eve story is then taken more seriously. The readers begin to think that maybe things should have just been left alone.
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